Here in Siberia, honeysuckle is ripening.
This year the harvest is good, all of our bushes, there are five of them, bloomed profusely in the spring, which was quite cool.
Moreover, the blooming lasted for about three weeks, with some petals falling while others were just opening. Despite the rain and cold, industrious bumblebees helped the delicate, light-yellow flowers pollinate.
The very first berries seemed so delicious, and all the household members walked near the honeysuckle thickets, enjoying the first vitamins.
Now the euphoria has subsided, the berries are almost all ripe and it’s time to pick them so as not to lose the harvest.
Honeysuckle berries have this peculiarity: they do not ripen all at once, but gradually, so the ripe blue fruits covered with a waxy coating, light brown, not yet fully ripened and completely green, hang on the bush.
For this reason, berry picking stretches out for three weeks. Ripe honeysuckle berries fall quickly, and birds can clear the bushes in a flash. So don't let your guard down.
I was planning to harvest this weekend, but the weather, as usual, got in the way—strong winds and rain interrupted the harvest. I managed to pick a small bowl of berries. I transferred them to a container and froze them whole, without sugar. On Monday, after work, I also managed to pick another bowl of berries; I'll make some jam. There's plenty of honeysuckle, enough for everything—compote and freezing.
What are the benefits of this berry?
The very first spring berries contain a large number of vitamins and minerals. It's said to contain as much vitamin C as lemons and kiwis from other countries. If the summer is cool, rainy, and lacking sun, the berries accumulate more vitamin C and become more tart. In hotter, sunnier locations, the berries' sugar and tannin content increases, and their flavor becomes slightly more bitter. Even here in Siberia, honeysuckle always tastes sweeter in hot summers.
Honeysuckle is the highest in magnesium and sodium among berries, second only to lingonberry in potassium, and ahead of rose hips in P-active substances. All vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and other substances are essential for the smooth functioning of all systems and organs. They maintain water-salt balance, regulate nervous system function, promote proper heart function, maintain blood pressure, influence the permeability and elasticity of capillary vessels, help remove harmful substances from the body, and fight viruses and microbes.
So our first berry is not only tasty, but also healthy.